At the Beach
by SkyStrider
Summary: Nodoka has taken the combined families away on a vacation to a lovely beach, ditching all of the Nerima crew with the help of Tofu and Nabiki. While there, Ranma discovers the reason Akane cannot swim and an old admirer of Akane stops by to talk to her. Re-written 6/2/15, but the final ending is unchanged. Added a chapter featuring Daisuke, Sayuri, Hiroshi, and Yuka.
1. The Beach

A/N: This story was re-released on 6/2/15. The last section of Chapter 2 and the first section of Chapter 3 were re-written to correct some flaws that were bothering (oh all right - make that "bugging the hell out of") me. To sort of make up for it, I've added a bonus chapter featuring Sayuri, Daisuke, Yuka, and Hiroshi - just a little character development for them. Onwards:

The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

While this is story is part of the Bindings ("Kasumi's Fate") continuum, it's not necessary to have read any of the previous stories. You do need to know a few things to enjoy the story:

1) Ranma and Akane are (very) happily dating now.  
2) Kasumi and Tofu are formally engaged.  
3) Ryoga and Akari are formally engaged.  
4) Ranma and Ryoga have buried the hatchet (and not in each other's skull).  
5) Ranma has made a conscious decision to keep his shape-shifting abilities/curse.  
6) Tofu is a powerful mage and only three-quarters human.  
7) Tofu is teaching Ranma and Akane Martial Arts and more Arcane Arts as well as the teenagers have proven to be a Wind Mage and a Fire Mage respectively. Ryoga is an Earth Mage, but he has another teacher. Kasumi is also learning Magic from Tofu, but her power is somewhat of an unknown.

Anything else isn't important to enjoy the story (although, please feel free to read the other stories). There is one little paragraph hooking into the other stories, but feel free to ignore it (it's dead obvious and skipping it won't detract from the story).

For those following the Continuum, the story occurs a month or two before "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome" starts and well after "Genma's Job", so Ranma is considered a "Master" by everyone.

So let's join Ranma and crew during the August vacation…

* * *

Chapter 1: The Beach

Akane was "over-the-moon" happy when she came back to the beach blankets with Ranko. "I did it!" she burst out. "I actually swam on my back!"

"That's wonderful, honey!" Soun said. "I knew you could get the hang of it. Now, why don't you change and we will get a nice lunch? We should have missed the bulk of the crowds by now."

"All right, I'll be back soon!" Akane replied. Nabiki and Akari got up wordlessly to join her and Kasumi grabbed their bag. Meanwhile, Ranko took out a thermos and poured hot water on herself. Ranma now stood there in his shorts and T-shirt.

Tofu got up and motioned for Ranma to help him fold up the large beach blanket. They stepped a small distance away from everyone and began to shake it out. "What's wrong, Ranma?" Tofu asked quietly. "Any time Akane is not looking at you, you have a 'concerned' face."

"Doc, she can't float by herself," Ranma told him. "She's doing everything right. When I hold her, she feels as light as a feather. As soon as I let go, she turns to stone."

"So how did she swim?" Tofu asked puzzled.

"I swam with her and held her hand," the shape-shifter said with some exasperation.

Tofu stopped cold for a second and looked at Ranma. "If you hold her hand, she can swim?"

"If I hold her pinky, she can swim," Ranma clarified. "I had her do a dead-man's float in shallow water. If I let go, she sank to the bottom. When I reached down and touched her ankle, she floated to the top." Ranma's eyes looked a little wild. "Doc, I didn't do anything other than touch her!"

Now Tofu looked concerned. "Are you sure about this?"

"YES! Yes, I'm sure. I'm also confused as hell! Something is up, something not normal. The water doesn't react the same way to her as it does to other people, it loses its…" Ranma stopped while looking for a word.

"'Buoyancy'. The word you are looking for is 'buoyancy'," the doc supplied.

"O.K. fine," Ranma agreed and then he went on: "We got into several splash fights. Even how she splashes changes. If she's standing on the sand in the water, or touching me, it's normal. As soon as she leaves the ground or let's go, the water might as well be air – it acts the same!" Tofu stood stunned for a second. Ranma asked: "Does this have anything to do with her Fire Magic?"

Tofu shook his head. "If it does, this is a first. I'm a Fire Mage and I can swim."

"You're also part-Kitsune. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Ranma pushed back.

"No," the doc said firmly. "I've met many other Fire Mages, and one of them is a fisherman. He can swim like a dolphin – I've seen him do it."

"So what is going on?" Ranma challenged.

"I don't know," Tofu admitted. "Let's just keep an eye on her for now. You weren't planning on letting her swim alone anyhow, were you?" Ranma just shook his head. "Good enough. I'll warn her that she should be careful."

They rejoined the others and waited for the ladies to come back, and then everyone headed to the boardwalk for a seafood lunch. As they walked, Kasumi moved close to Tofu and held him back a little to ask: "Is everything all right?"

"Some unusual physics is breaking out around your little sister again. It seems she can't swim unless she's touching something other than the water. I don't understand why. Maybe her 'death-experience' altered how she reacts to water," he answered.

"But Akane has never been able to swim – even before Jusendo," Kasumi pointed out with a worried face.

"That's true," he replied.

"Is this a result of her Fire Magic?" Kasumi asked.

"I told Ranma 'No', but really, I'm not sure," he answered. He nodded at the knot of teenagers ahead of him. "The normal rules don't seem to apply. That lot has only had a few months of formal mage instruction, but they are already much stronger than people who have been practicing for decades. Akane was able to generate physical light in grade school; Ranma is the youngest ever to learn the Hiryu Shoten Ha by a wide margin; and Ryoga was already able to tunnel like a mole – something not even Hideo can do. Something is up, but I don't know what. It's like those three were marked since birth…" he trailed off. After a moment, he shook his head. "Never mind, we are on vacation – all of us. Let's just keep an eye on things and make sure Akane doesn't swim alone. C'mon – let's catch up."

As they neared everyone else, the couple heard Ranma say to his mom: "By the way, in case I don't say it later – Thanks."

"You're welcome, but this is my vacation too. I've never had a chance to really enjoy one with my family," Nodoka responded. "It's a novel concept for me." She looked at her son with her eyes twinkling and teased: "Just remember, you and your fiancée are not to vanish for the whole week. I expect both of you to spend some time with me."

Ranma smirked and said: "Oh come on, Mom. You don't really think I want to spend any time with this Tomboy?"

Akane thumped her fist against Ranma's shoulder. "I heard that, idiot," she said, but there was no anger in her voice. She then bumped shoulders with him. Ranma smirk became a smile and he put an arm around her shoulders. "See if you get a good night kiss tonight," she threatened mockingly.

"Ah, ah, ah," Nodoka scolded just as mockingly. "I expect both of you to be on good behavior."

Akane looked at her mother-in-law-to-be with a half-smile. "And if we can't argue with one another, what do you expect us to do the whole time?" the teenager said.

"You are on Nanki Shirahama Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Japan. Something will dawn on you. Heaven forbid – you may even try a little romantic moon-lit walk!" Nodoka said with mock exasperation.

"Forget it," Ryoga chimed in from just in front of them. "It's totally lost on them."

"Oh, and like you're such an expert, pig-brain," Ranma retorted.

"Hey, at least I managed to actually formalize my engagement," Ryoga shot back. "Akane's still waiting on a ring." There was a smack heard and Ryoga said "Ow!"

"Behave," Akari scolded him. In a sweeter tone , she said, "Thank you for inviting us along, Mrs. Saotome. I haven't had a vacation in years either."

"You're welcome, dear," the mother answered. "I'm sorry it's a small place though – only the three bedrooms."

"It does just fine," Akari assured her. "I'm amazed you managed to get such a lovely condo though. Things are usually booked up months in advance."

"I got lucky," Nodoka replied. "It does us good to get out of Nerima for a little while too."

"It is wonderful," Akane said. "No Amazons, no Kunos, and no Ukyo. Ranma and I can actually have a date without the secrecy.

"And no repair bills," Soun called back from the head of the group where he walked with Nabiki and Genma.

"Trust Daddy to get to the heart of the matter," Nabiki smirked. Of course, Nabiki was smirking for many reasons – not least of which was the bit of misinformation she and Tofu had set in motion last week…

* * *

Meanwhile, at Onjuku beach, over 400 kilometers to the east:

"Where the hell are they?" Ukyo burst out.

"Mistress, isn't that Ranma's and Akane's friends over there?" Konatsu pointed out. Unusually, he was dressed in a simple T-shirt and shorts with sandals at Ukyo's insistence. The generic outfit did nothing to hide that he was male, much to his embarrassment.

Shampoo moaned: "Shampoo think Airen trick us again."

"No surprise," Cologne said. "Well, we are here, and I see some pleasant company sitting in a good spot. Let's ask if we can join them."

"But we have to find them!" Ukyo burst out. Cologne ignored her and walked over to where Sayuri, Daisuke, Yuka, and Hiroshi were sitting.

"Why, Grandmother!" Daisuke grinned. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Stow it, sonny boy," Cologne told the young man. "I'll admit to pleasant, but this is not a surprise. Do you mind if we join you?"

"Pull up a blanket," Sayuri told them, while looking appreciatively at Konatsu and Mousse.

Mousse dropped his burdens with a relieved sigh. "Thanks. That load was heavy." Konatsu helped him set up the beach blanket and umbrella. Cologne hopped into the beach chair they opened for her and started to put on sunscreen, looking like a queen with her subjects.

Ukyo and Shampoo looked at the three in shock. "What are you doing?" Ukyo nearly shouted.

"Why, I am enjoying a day at the beach with some friends," Cologne said. "Sit and relax, gentlemen," she instructed Mousse and Konatsu, who were standing behind her chair.

"But we must find Airen!" Shampoo insisted.

"Well, I suggest you start looking at this beach. It will only take you the day. Then you can move clockwise around Japan checking all the other beaches. It will only take a few months or so," Cologne answered. "Unless you four happen to know where Ranma is?" she asked the four friends whimsically.

"Sorry," Yuka said with a small smile. "We can't tell you what we don't know."

"For all we know, Ranma and Akane are here somewhere – or maybe on the boardwalk," added Hiroshi. "Or maybe not."

Cologne settled back in her chair, with a half-smile. "Thought so," she said with satisfaction. She motioned again for Konatsu and Mousse to sit again. They complied this time.

Ukyo stormed away from them and began scanning the beach. Shampoo joined her. Cologne just rolled her eyes. "It's over Granddaughter," Cologne muttered out loud. "I keep telling you that and you will not listen. Oh well." The six teenagers around her just shook their heads and began to chat among themselves, sitting to one side of Cologne. The Elder added bits and pieces to the conversation as it amused her.

Some hours later, Shampoo and Ukyo returned to the party having searched the beach thoroughly, but not the Boardwalk yet. The seven were surrounded by the lovely lunch Cologne had packed. Shampoo noted darkly that her Grandmother had seemed to pack more than enough for everyone. She also noted that the Quartet had also packed extra provisions. With a huff, Shampoo sat on the other side of Cologne, away from the rest.

Ukyo stood for a moment and ground her teeth. The others had not acknowledged her return yet. Instead, they were watching Konatsu demonstrate how to give a proper Kunoichi backrub while applying more sunscreen using Sayuri as a demonstration subject. He was coaching Hiroshi through the motions. Yuka was Hiroshi's practice dummy. Cologne was commenting on what pressure points Konatsu was utilizing. Mousse and Daisuke where caught somewhere between fascination and jealousy (but the former was winning). Ukyo could feel her own unwanted jealousy rising. The only thing that kept her from exploding was the professionalism in Konatsu's motions. Hiroshi's motions were a lot more intimate on his girlfriend. Sayuri and Yuka did not care either way. Judging from their smiles, both young women seemed to be in heaven, not even caring that the back straps on their bathing suits had been undone so as to not interrupt the motions of the massage.

"No, no, no," Konatsu scolded Hiroshi. "Your gestures are too lingering. You don't do it like this," he said as he duplicated Hiroshi's movements on Sayuri's back. Sayuri's eyes shot open and she bit her lower lip. "You do it like this! Nice sharp motions," Konatsu corrected. Sayuri's face seemed to melt again and the smile came back. Sayuri wasn't too sure which gesture she liked more, but the incorrect one would definitely lead to trouble before too long. Cologne did her best to control her laughter and not fall out of her chair.

"The goal is to get the patient to relax and maximize their Chi flow, not seduce them!" Konatsu continued. Yuka half-debated telling the male Kunoichi to shut up. Ukyo stormed away unnoticed.

Ukyo stood staring at the sea by the water-line for a long time and debated her next move. Cologne was right, it was pointless to search for Ranma. Once more, he and Akane had escaped her. "Why am I bothering with him?" she wondered. "But he can't be in love with Akane – I'm the cute one; I can cook. This is just his sense of honor getting in the way, isn't it?" She continued to look out at the waves for a while.

"Does waitress-boy know trouble he is causing?" a voice asked behind her after a bit.

Ukyo turned to look beyond Shampoo back at the group. There were now four couples under Konatsu's tutelage. Yuka was now working on Hiroshi, Sayuri was working on Mousse, a new girl was working with Daisuke, and there was a new couple. Konatsu and Cologne walked among the couples.

"Actually, he does," Ukyo said. "He's not really causing any trouble. Watch!" She then pointed out a quick gesture Konatsu made to Daisuke's back. Daisuke relaxed further. "Konatsu is very naïve about some things in society – like money, but he is a genius Kunoichi. He is very knowledgeable about people and how they tick, especially their Chi flows. With a touch, he can raise or lower the sex drive in either sex. Right now, he owns all of them. It's a good thing his heart is in the right place. He'll keep everything under control. When he's done, there will be eight happy and relaxed people."

"Hmph. If Mousse wasn't there, Shampoo would join them. Would like to relax," Shampoo said. Ukyo only sighed in response. Shampoo then asked: "Shampoo thought that Akane's other friend was dating Ranma's other friend?"

"Daisuke and Sayuri?" Ukyo questioned. At Shampoo's nod, Ukyo answered: "No, they are just good friends. Both know the other is trouble, especially for one another – they are both a little wild. When they pair up, they work to keep it platonic although they do enjoy each other's company. They are sort of proof that men and women can just be friends."

Now Shampoo sighed. "Wish dumb duck would see that…" she said.

* * *

Akane awoke in her bed listening to the strange music that filled her head. It almost sounded like a whale song, but the notes were softer. The piece was very compelling – it seemed to wind into her thoughts, wiping the sleep away and sharpening her mind. She sat up and looked around, trying to pinpoint the source. She was sharing a room with Nabiki, Kasumi, and Akari, but none of them stirred in their sleep. A glance at the clock told her it was a little after 2AM.

She remembered her lessons with Tofu and deliberately shielded her mind against the song, causing it to vanish. "O.K.," she thought. "It's not a physical song." Very carefully, she opened her mind and listened again, guarding against a hypnotic suggestion. The song was definitely an invitation, but there was nothing threatening there. It was actually a bit like a shot of caffeine – it seemed to wipe away the fog and leave the listener very clear headed.

Akane got out of bed and went to the open window in her room. There was definitely a directionality to it. Normally, she would have followed her impulses and gone outside to follow it, but Tofu's cautions over the last few months were starting to have an effect and she knew Ranma would go through the roof if she went by herself (she would have been equally mad if he did the same). Oddly enough, the song changed slightly and seemed to encourage her to be careful. She decided to wake Kasumi.

Kasumi came awake quickly as Akane shook her. Akane placed a finger to her sister's lips as Kasumi looked at her. Akane whispered: "Do you hear anything?"

The elder sister looked confused for a moment and then her eyes widened. "Music just started up as soon as you finished asking that question," Kasumi answered.

"Good. I'm not going insane," Akane replied.

Kasumi listened for a minute and then said: "It sounds like someone wants to talk to you."

"But it's all right if I have a guardian go with me," Akane agreed. "Are you up for a walk?"

"All right. But we should wake Ranma and Tofu." Kasumi responded.

Akane was about to argue, then thought about how the men would react – it wasn't worth the fight. "Yeah," she reluctantly agreed.

The two women changed into shorts and T-shirts. Then Kasumi left Akane in the hallway while she went to wake up Ranma and Tofu. After a few minutes, Kasumi came back followed by Tofu. Ranma was tossed over Tofu's shoulders, fast asleep. "I'll wake him in the kitchen," Tofu said softly. "Ranma doesn't wake up quietly."

After a few cups of water in the face and some shape changes, Ranma was finally conscious. "What gives?" he demanded with some annoyance.

"There's magic afoot," Tofu said. "The women are hearing a special song. I can't hear it, but I feel a Summoning. It's not strong, but it is insistent even if it is polite. Something wants to talk to Akane. I think we need to find out what."

"A song only women can hear? Like the Stone Oni?" Ranma asked suspiciously.

"It's a lot less compelling, Ranma," Kasumi told him. "The song doesn't create a hypnotic trance. But it does create curiosity. It also sharpens the mind and senses though. I don't think it's a trap."

Ranma thought for a second and then went to the sink and splashed cold water on himself. Ranko appeared and stood quietly for a second. "I don't hear any song –" she started to say and then stopped. After a moment, she said: "It started as soon as I said the word 'song'." Ranko listened for a moment and added: "The weird part is it sounds familiar. I've heard this before."

"What do you think?" Tofu asked. "Should we pay a visit?"

"I think it's an ally, and it wants to talk to Akane. Let's go," Ranko answered.

The four people left the condo and followed the song to the seashore, then they turned north and walked uphill for a little ways. The hill crested and overlooked a large cove. There was a pathway leading down to a pebble beach. However, the water in the cove was filled with a mass of glowing blue-green jelly. There were two enormous eyes in the mass.

"Oh my!" Kasumi said softly.

"What the hell is that?" Tofu asked.

Akane clasped her hands to her mouth in astonishment, but there were the edges of a smile twitching on her lips. "The Jellyfish King," Akane whispered.

Ranko just held a hand to her head and said: "Yeah, that's when I last heard something like this. He was singing when he tossed Akane in the air and while holding her." Ranko looked at Akane in frustration and added: "Sure, even here we can't get away from your admirers."

"You're not one to talk," she shot back.

"C'mon," Ranko moaned. "This can't be comfortable for him. Let's go see what he wants…"

* * *

A/N: For those interested, the Jellyfish King is a canon character that appeared in Volume 36, Chapter 1: "The Conspiracy of Jellyfish Beach."


	2. The Bargain

Chapter 2: The Bargain

On the way down to the cove, Akane and Ranko explained to Tofu about the conspiracy of Jellyfish Beach and of the King of the Sea who demanded a swim race be held once a year. All swimmers were to be young women with short dark hair. The winner of the competition was given a trophy and a photo op with the King – a giant Jellyfish. The King would hold the winner for about fifteen minutes and then return her to the waiting boats. In exchange for the friendly human contact, the Jellyfish King would protect the seaside town and ensure the safety of the local fisherman and swimmers against all dangers.

"He's amazing," Tofu said with a trace of wonder. "He's like an elder animal, with an emphasis on the word 'elder'. He's grown so old and so wise; he's become a force of Nature. He's literally tens of thousands years old."

"Why does he insist on the race?" Ranko asked.

"I can only guess," Tofu answered. "But I'd say that he has moved so far beyond his species that he seeks out other intelligent life. He obviously can Mind Touch, so he wants to Touch a willing human mind every now and then. Somewhere along the line, he's developed a male personality and a preference to 'talk' to pretty young women. He's probably learned all he can from Mankind, but he likes a little companionship."

When they reached the floor of the cove, the Jellyfish King pulled himself above the water, looking somewhat like a giant mushroom with eyes. He sent long thin tentacles near the beach. The tentacles glowed in the water and seemed to beckon Akane to come forward. She went to the water's edge and bowed, then yelled: "Hello!" The others stood a few meters behind her. A shape seemed to form on the mushroom under the eyes. The indentation looked like a giant smile.

In the water, the glowing tentacles spelled out flowing words:

"_Hello, Fire Child."_

"Oh wow!" Akane said in amazement. The others expressed similar reactions behind her. "A little louder, Akane asked: "You wanted to see me?"

"_Yes, you need to be careful when you swim. Your presence nullifies Water. You need to stay in contact with the Earth, or with Life to help balance this effect,"_ the King answered.

Akane was obviously confused as she asked: "Why me?"

The smile on the JellyFish King became a little wider: _"That I cannot answer. But I knew this about you from the moment I first held you – fortunately, I am quite alive, so you do not harm me, pretty one."_

Ranko began to mumble things under her breath. The King seemed to notice and there was a flipping of larger tentacles in the water, splashing Ranko with water. Suddenly, Ranma stood in her place when the water passed. No one seemed to notice that a tentacle now rested near Ranma's foot.

The King wrote: "_And you have no reason to be jealous, Wind Child."_ There was something about the script that conveyed laughter. _"You know she loves you very much, and you love her."_ Both teenagers blushed brightly in the bioluminescence from the King.

"Your town is a ways away. You came here just to warn Akane?" Tofu asked.

"_Yes, Gandalf. I have a certain fondness for all the maidens who win my race. I keep track of them any time they enter the Sea. Fire Child is a special case even among the winners. I do not want to see her harmed."_

"Gandalf?" Tofu protested.

"_It's as good a name as any, Wise Sage."_

Words escaped from Kasumi's mouth in surprise: "You know Tolkien?"

"_Yes, 'big' sister. I know much of your world and its arts. It gives me much hope for your kind."_

"So you do absorb information from the girls!" Tofu burst out.

The smile grew stronger. _"Yes, I do. I could absorb – or rather 'copy' – all of their thoughts and memories, but I would consider that a violation of their identity. Instead, I copy the more 'public' things they know – books, music, news, movies, and so on. For instance, I know Fire Child likes Ghost Stories and the occasional teen romance. I also copy enough to learn a little about the girl, but nothing she wouldn't normally share with a casual friend."_ Akane continued to blush, although Ranma's face was curiously blank now. Neither Tofu nor Kasumi noticed that or the tentacle wrapped around his ankle as they parleyed with the King. The King went on: _"I chose a certain type of girl due to the variations that appear within that type. Because their personalities vary greatly, so does the information I can pick up year after year."_

"Why girls and not boys?" Kasumi asked.

"_Who says I only pick girls? The boys are a different race – I am also the Sea Queen. Not many people can identify the gender of a jellyfish and I can change my sex at will anyway – or choose to have none. I prefer the young because they are less guarded in their thoughts and have fewer hard and fast opinions to color what they know. I have learned much over the years."_

"How many years?" Tofu asked bluntly.

"_I am older than your species, Wise Sage. When I first learned of humans, I ran across the males of the species first. Eventually, a female came to me and I learned more. I have touched many other intelligent species as well. Humans are not the first, nor will they be the last I hope. With luck, all will continue to evolve – At least if I have any say in the matter." _Kasumi and Tofu both looked taken aback by the last statement.

"_Anyway,"_ continued the King. "_I need to finish here. There's only so long I can stay in the shallows."_ A wider tentacle rose out of the cove's waters and caressed Akane's cheek_. "Fire Child Akane, you should experiment with your ability to nullify Water; especially when you are standing on Earth – it may save your life someday."_

"I don't understand how can I do that," Akane said slowly. "But I will try."

"_Just think of fire when you are standing in the shallows, and then watch the results,"_ the King advised_. "It will be very enlightening – I promise."_

"All right," Akane answered. No one saw Ranma come back to himself, or the tentacle that withdrew from his foot into the sea.

"_Good – and never swim alone. Always – always – have someone with you,"_ the King added.

Akane nodded at the King and he seemed to nod back. Then the King sank into the water again. _"Be well – all of you,"_ the King said and then began to withdraw his form.

The four people watched his bulk leave the cove, and then his light faded as he sank into deeper waters.

"O.K. That was new and different," Tofu noted.

"It's good to have friends in high places," Kasumi added.

"I guess so," Akane said. "I never thought there might be a real reason for not being able to swim."

"You can swim, Akane," Ranma said. "You just have to stay with someone." He seemed to shake himself and grinned at her mischievously. "I'm sure I can find a volunteer," he teased.

Akane blushed and tapped Ranma on the shoulder with her fist. "Dummy," she said with a hushed voice.

"Let's head back," Tofu advised. The rest nodded and followed him back to the path.

When they were halfway up the hill, Ranma looked back alone into the waters. Briefly, a message flashed in the cove: _"Remember what I said, Ranma."_ In an instant, it was gone again.

"Are you all right, Ranma?" Tofu asked with concern.

"Sorry," Ranma answered. "Just lost in thought for a minute."

* * *

The next day started much like the first. Akane and Ranma (as Ranko) swam together most of the morning. Like yesterday, Akane could swim if Ranko touched her, but she was unable to swim by herself. They did experiment with tying seaweed about Akane to see if that was enough "Life" to make a difference. To their surprise, it did have an effect, but she needed enough to actually make a second swimsuit before she could swim.

"That's how the swimsuit the King gave you worked," Ranko guessed. "He made it of living materials, so you could swim."

"I think there was more to it," Akane disagreed. "He seems to be fairly respectful of life – all life. I think he also enchanted the swimsuits to protect the racers. I never got really tired wearing the suit. I'll bet the other girls never got really tired either."

Ranko tilted her head back and forth thinking about that, and then had to agree. "Do you want to try 'nullifying' the water this evening?" the red-head asked. "I'm sort of curious."

"If there are no crowds later," Akane replied. "Since I'm not sure of the effects, I don't want any others about."

"We could try it in the swimming pool at the condo," Ranko suggested. "It was empty yesterday – most people would rather be at the beach."

"That's a thought," Akane agreed.

"Akane! Ranma!" Kasumi yelled. "It's time to think about lunch!"

* * *

Later that evening, Ranma and Akane slipped out to the condo pool. As expected, it was empty. The pool was a decent size with a range of depths varying from one meter to four meters. Akane slipped into the shallow end while Ranma stayed on deck with a lifeguard pole. After a few minutes, Akane said: "I'm not noticing anything."

Ranma shrugged and then remember a comment he had made to Tofu yesterday. "Akane, try to splash me while you're thinking about fire," he suggested.

Akane shrugged and slapped the water to spray Ranma (A/N: He really has accepted his "curse", hasn't he?). Akane's hand passed through the water barely disturbing it. "Whoa," she said with some amazement. "I can't really feel it. It might as well just be a cold pocket of air."

"Try walking through the water," Ranma suggested.

She did so leaving only the smallest of wakes. "It's like walking on land," Akane told him. "There's no lift from the water at all."

"Stop thinking about fire and walk again," he requested. She did so and Ranma noticed a normal wake.

"Let me try something," Akane said. She leaped into the air and sank to the bottom quickly. She began to thrash about for a few seconds and then seemed to regain control. She stood to get some air and then sank into the water again. Ranma watched carefully, making sure she really was fine. She repeated the process a few times until she finally stood again and said: "He's right. The water acts normally as long as I am touching the bottom of the pool. As soon as I try to swim, the water stops supporting me until I hit the bottom. Watch this!"

Akane sank and touched the bottom of the pool with one hand. She then kicked with her feet and glided along the bottom of the pool into deeper water. Ranma continued to watch carefully, but Akane seemed to be fine so long as she kept one hand on the bottom of the pool. She reached the end of the pool and turned around, pushing hard on the wall. She seemed to be doing all right until she hit the ramp up to the shallow end. Akane stopped suddenly and seemed to be in trouble, so Ranma jumped in and pulled her up to the surface and then to the pool edge. Akane was spitting up a couple liters of water as they went. She seemed to regain her breath just as they got to the side.

Ranma (as Ranko) held Akane as the blue-black haired girl steadied her breathing. "You know," Ranko started. "I told you you're suppose to fill your lungs with air – not water."

Akane would normally have been annoyed by the jab, but she also heard the concern in Ranko's voice. That and the fact that Ranko was holding her closely kept a lid on Akane's temper. Instead, she answered: "I was moving too fast to keep good contact. Then I got confused when I hit the ramp. I should have just leaped out of there."

Ranko lifted Akane out of the pool and climbed out. She watched as Akane's color steadied. When Ranko checked Akane's pulse, an eyebrow shot up. The red-head said: "You know, I've never seen anyone recover faster from a drowning than you. Normally, there would still be some water in the lungs and your body would still be in distress."

Akane was about to respond sharply, but stopped herself. "What are you talking about, Ranma?" she asked instead. "It's easy to get the water out."

"No, it's not," Ranko insisted. "And drowning causes a shock to the system. People usually go to the hospital after a drowning incidence for monitoring. There's also danger of infection to the lungs from having the water there. People are often weak afterward. You recover within seconds."

Akane thought about that for a few moments with a concerned look on her face. Then she stood up, walked over to the shallow end and jumped in, squatting down to submerge herself completely. "Really?" Ranko exclaimed with exasperation. "We just did this!"

However, before Ranko could jump in again, Akane stood up and shot a steady stream of water from her mouth. Again, she seemed to spit out a couple of liters. When she stopped, Akane turned to her astonished fiancé and said: "It doesn't hurt me to breathe in the water, but there's no oxygen – at least none that my body can pull out. So, it doesn't help me either – I need air."

"Holy crap…" Ranko whispered. She looked at Akane with amazement for a minute and then an idea occur to her. Ranko ordered: "Come back over here." Akane did as she was told (surprisingly). Ranko had Akane sit along the pool edge and cup her hands in the shape of a bowl to hold some of the pool water. "Think about fire," Ranko added.

Nothing seem to happen to the water in Akane's hands until Ranko stuck a finger into the water and flicked it. A whisp of mist appeared and quickly dissipated. Ranko continued to flick her fingers until the mist was flowing over the sides of Akane's hands. Even Akane's eyes were wide with astonishment. "It looks like a dry ice/water fog," the blue-black haired girl said.

"You turn water into this 'half-state' that's not quite air and not quite liquid," Ranko agreed. "When it leaves you, it reverts. That's why it doesn't hurt your lungs."

"But I'm not thinking about fire when I swim," Akane pushed back.

"True," Ranko agreed. The red-head thought about it for a minute and then said: "Try this – cup some water in one hand and cover it with the other trapping the water completely in your hands. Shake the water hard and then throw it into the air. Do it like this…" Ranko demonstrated with a handful of water, throwing the small drops into the air.

"All right," Akane agreed. But, when she threw the water into the air, a column of fog appeared.

"Bingo," Ranko said with a smile. "If you enclose the water, or the water encloses you, the half-state happens by itself.

"Whoa," was all Akane said.

"Are you all right?" Ranko asked after Akane sat there for a few minutes.

Akane turned a frightened face to Ranko. "Ranma? What's happening to me?"

In the past, Ranma/Ranko would have panicked having to deal with any emotion from Akane except anger, but he/she was wising-up and becoming use to (and enjoying) close contact with Akane. Instead of retreating, Ranko embraced Akane and whispered: "Hey, hey. Relax. This is nothing new. It's been happening for a while. We are just getting answers now."

Akane took a deep breath and answered: "Maybe."

"No 'maybes' about it," Ranko said. "I once told you that you were bursting with power. This is just another example. You can master it and learn to control it. Not only will you be one of the world's best Martial Artists, you will also be one of the strongest Fire Mages."

Akane looked like Ranko had hit her with a club. She looked into Ranko's blue eyes and asked breathlessly: "Do you really think I'll be one of the world's best Martial Artists?"

Akane saw something crystallize in Ranko's blue eyes – it was almost like watching water flash-freeze. "I promise, Akane," Ranko answered with deadly seriousness. "You will be one of the world's best." Then Ranko's normal mischief shone brightly and the shape-shifter added: "After me, of course."

Ranko then tickled Akane's ribs causing the girl to shriek: "Ranma! You sneak!" Ranko laughed and then tore off with Akane in fast pursuit.

* * *

Later that night, a re-assured Akane settled into slumber. Ranma was wide awake in his bed, waiting for the others to fall asleep. Once he was sure the house was quiet, he snuck from his bed and left the condo. He slowly retraced the path back to the deserted cove. Once there, he stared into the empty waters and let the memory of the other night flow back to him. The Jellyfish King had shown him images of possible Outcomes and given Ranma a warning:

_ "You will smother her if you are not careful," the Jellyfish King said. Ranma found himself floating alone in a soft blue-green world. _

_"I want to keep her safe," Ranma answered. "I love her!"_

_"She has her own battles to fight – you cannot fight them for her. Would you see her diminished?" the King asked. _

_"No!" Ranma answered again. _

_"Then you must train her – really train her! You've been showing her katas and teaching her to strike and block; now teach her strategy. You are a master of battlefield strategy – teach her to do more than the straight attack. Teach her how to get inside her opponent's head. She's ready for the final level – Teach her 'Anything Goes'. So much depends on it, Ranma," the King insisted._

_Ranma hung his head "I can't lose her…I don't want to risk her…Let me fight in her place…" he pleaded. _

_"That's not my call, Ranma," the King replied gently. "It's not your call either. If you were to take her place, we'd all fall. I've shown you the Heart; what would happen in you touch It?" Ranma shuddered involuntarily. "I'm afraid that's right," the King told him. "It has to be Akane's hand, and she must survive her trials to reach It." Ranma nodded his head reluctantly. "Finish her training; make her a Master," the King ordered softly. _

_"I can't let her do this alone. Please! There must be some way for me to stay with her!" Ranma pleaded again._

_"You have your own tasks, Ranma. And could you really let Akane do what she has to?" the King asked. Ranma seemed to hesitate and then nod. "Are you sure, Ranma? Can you swallow your Pride, Ranma?" the King demanded. "Will you bow to the Will of another?"_

_Ranma paused for a split second. Then he said firmly: "I'll do what I have to so I can stay by her side, but where she goes, I go."_

_"Will you accept my Binding, Ranma? Will you accept my will, and more importantly, will you accept Akane's will when the Time comes?" the King demanded again. _

_Ramna winced and then straightened up. His eyes blazed as he said: "I'll do whatever I need to do to be with her – always!"_

_ "Then take this," the King said. A small roll about a centimeter wide and a couple of centimeters thick appeared in front of him. It looked like seaweed._

_"What is it?" Ranma asked momentarily._

_"The Binding, Ranma. When you get back to the real world, eat it. When you do that, you are promising me to train Akane and to allow her to fulfill her Destiny. In exchange, I'll give you the added wisdom you need to stay with her and help her, but not impede her or impede Destiny – yours or hers. You'll know when to catch her when she stumbles – and when not too." _

Ranma came back to the present and took the small roll out of his pocket. He stared at it for a long time and then put it in his mouth. As he bit down, he noticed the taste. "Hmph," he thought. "I should have known it was jellyfish." He swallowed it and suddenly any weariness or doubt left him – he felt energized, like after a good nap.

He waited for a little longer, but that seemed to be the only effect from the jellyfish roll. Then he placed himself into a meditative trance and took careful inventory. "I don't feel any different," he thought. "I was expecting some sort of compulsion, but there's nothing. There's nothing blocking my thoughts either. In fact, I can feel everything a little sharper." He stared at the cove. "Not only can I feel the power flows from the Air and Earth, but I can feel them from the Sea now too. I can send my mind through the water and count the fishes there. That's sort of weird." Ranma waited a little longer, but other than his heightened Senses and the energized feeling, he still noticed nothing.

After a bit, he sighed and sat down while still looking out at the cove. "Well, I've agreed to finish Akane's training and that's that," he said out loud. "But how the hell am I going to do that? Pop's methods are insane." He laid down on the ground and stared up at the moon and stars. "I suppose I'd have to cross this bridge eventually if I want students anyway," he sighed.

He lay on the ground thinking about all of the crazy things Genma had done to his son. "Pops is definitely whacked in the head," he thought. As he reflected further, he began to remember other instructors he had seen, and the dojos he had stayed at. "Some of their people were pretty good. The best had more experience than the others which isn't a big surprise. That's one thing Anything Goes does for you – the training shoves you in over your head and it's 'sink or swim'. The problem is, the 'sinking' could be really bad. That's where things got out of hand."

He paused for a second and remembered one dojo that had owned an outside martial arts training ground. It was a good area that the Sensei had split into several courses. One course was used to teach the element of surprise and using your environment to aid you in a fight. He remembered another that taught fighting multiple people. There had been traps and springs all along the course that the student set off when trying to walk through it. "I could bump that up a notch too," Ranma thought. "There's enough of us now where I could have other martial artists serve as the 'traps'. As much as I hate to admit it, Ryoga is damn good. So is Konatsu. Akari and Kasumi could help too. Mr. Tendo really isn't useful for being hard on Akane, but he's been in some pretty bad scrapes when he was younger – I could ask him about things he's been through and use those to build training routines."

With a burst of insight, Ranma turned that last idea on its head. "For that matter, *my* experiences could be used to build training routines!" he thought. "I could even adjust some of Genma's nonsense to make it practical. It would still be rough, but much more humane. There has to be consequences for failing, but it can be scrubbing toilets instead of going insane." His mind race on: "I don't even need training grounds for a lot of this. I could create brain teasers instead. There are other teaching tools I could use, too. I could talk to Ms. Hinako about this and she'd help me – she loves anything that makes people think."

"Happosai should have done this ages ago, the lazy bastard," he said out loud. But those words made him stop and think too. It caused Ranma to reflect on the practicality of rest, something Genma never taught – although he certainly practiced it. "Akane and I deserve a vacation," Ranma thought. "I'll keep up her sparring for now, but we won't start the harder training until we are home." With a grin, something else came to him: "Pain may be necessary, but lingering pain is not. I can use some of the massage techniques I know to take her pain away after training. That will allow us to cover more ground faster and some of those techniques could be very interesting to practice on Akane." The grin became slightly evil.

Again his mind ground to a halt and sprinted off in a new direction. "Techniques I know…" he mused. Then his eyes widened as he took mental inventory. "I know fighting. I know healing plants. I know shiatsu. I know how to camp and live off the land. School has taught me history – something Pops has no idea about. Listening to Kasumi, Nabiki, and Mr. Tendo has taught me about politics. I know the basics of money. Tofu has taught me to fight magic." The list went on and on. "Screw Ryoga's 'I've seen hell!' I've seen *life*. So much of it has been dragged across me – and it's stayed with me. It's all inside of me!"

His eyes narrowed: "I am 'Anything Goes.' It all inside of me – and I can write it all down. Once it's down, I can review it and teach it. I can show it to the others and get their opinions. What I can't figure out, they can help me. I can do this!"

Then his eyes widen one last time as the final revelation hit him. "All inside of me…YOU TRICKED ME, YOU SLIMY BAG OF MUCUS! There was no compulsion in that jellyfish roll. You got me to promise! You know how I treat promises! Bastard!" he burst out and then laughed. "All that roll did was kick my brain up a notch and make me sit down and think! You might as well have given me a couple cups of coffee! You absolute JACKASS!"

Ranma got up while still laughing. He felt the Jellyfish King's gift flowing in his veins. He probably wouldn't need to sleep for a couple of days. "Bet I won't 'crash' when it wears off," Ranma thought. "He's way too good at this."

With his brain awhirl, Ranma ran back to the condo to find paper and pen – there was much to plot and plan.

* * *

Deep under the sea, the King felt a change in the Power flows and a little later, Ranma's thoughts reached him. He grinned to himself: "What is it that the Wise Sage would say? 'So much to learn, little Grasshopper.' Maybe I am a sneak, but I said I'd only give you the added wisdom necessary. It's not my fault that you don't need any – or at least you will not need any when the appointed time comes. Besides, the Children of the Balance cannot be compelled against their will by any magic. Now you have agreed by your own free will to help Akane accomplish her Task and not interfere unduly. That is far more compelling than any spell I could cast. And the things I showed you last night will help you steer Fate correctly."

He mused further: "Still, that was definitely worth losing a few brains cells. Not only will Ranma train Akane properly, but now the Child of Wind is Bound to Fire by his Love, Earth by his Brother, and Water through me. He can now draw strength from all four realms. Not only will you be the world's greatest martial artist, Ranma, but you will also be the greatest Wind Lord ever. Beware Henna! The Defender has arisen, and the Champion will soon follow…"

* * *

A/N: As I promised, the connection to the rest of the Continuum is dead obvious, and only important to those following the Continuum.


	3. Anything Goes Martial Arts

Chapter 3: The Birth of the Real "Anything Goes Martial Arts"

Tofu was woken by Kasumi. His first impulse was to pull her into the bed, but then he remembered that he was sharing a room with Ryoga and Ranma. Meanwhile, Kasumi had intercepted his hands and said: "Not now – maybe later. You have to see this."

She led Tofu out of the room and into the kitchen. The floor was covered in drawings and sketches. The table was covered with pages of text and various written outlines. Ranma was sitting in the middle of this mess writing away for all he was worth. It was amazing the pen didn't explode from the rapid movements. He hadn't even noticed Kasumi and Tofu watching him in astonishment. The young man was completely intent on his task.

Very quietly, Tofu picked up the nearest paper and read it. It seemed to be a critique of a method Genma had taught Ranma. The critique was harsh overall, but it did summarize some useful lessons from the method and how it might be possible to teach the same lessons using a more sane approach. Nevertheless, Tofu promised himself that he would beat Genma up for having done this to Ranma. The doctor picked up another sheet of paper and recognized it as a list of shiatsu points specifically for relieving pain. Next to each point was a massage technique that could activate the point. It was incredibly detailed. He scanned several diagrams on the floor and recognized obstacle courses for exercising different karate techniques. Another diagram showed a course that exercised judo moves.

Ranma finished another piece of paper and dropped it on top of where the shiatsu points paper had been. This one was a list of edible plants, some with medicinal properties. When Tofu picked it up, Ranma finally noticed him and Kasumi. With wild eyes, the young man spun to the clock. "Oh crap," he said in a hushed voice. "I worked through the night. I'm sorry, Kasumi! Give me five minutes to organize this mess and I'll get out of your way!"

Tofu reached out and snagged Ranma's shoulder as the young man got up. "Ranma? What is all this?" Tofu asked.

"It's a good start of 'Anything Goes Martial Arts'," Ranma replied. "Something that can actually be taught without killing the student. I've managed to get the outline done and was starting to fill it in. It will take some time to finish, but there's enough here that I can come back to it."

"What brought this on?" Kasumi asked.

"The Jellyfish King talked to me privately the other night – he can do that if he touches you. He made me see that I needed to teach Akane to be a Master. But I don't want to use Pop's techniques. I was thinking about things last night, and it suddenly became clear how I could do this," Ranma answered.

"Ranma, sit down!" Tofu ordered.

Ranma looked confused, but did as he was told. "Look at my eyes," Tofu ordered again. Ranma did so, and his eyes became unfocused. Tofu held his gaze for about five minutes before the doctor smiled a little and said: "All right, no harm done." Ranma's gaze focused again, but the lad still looked confused. "I'll help you move this lot into the family room and we can sort it out there."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and just said: "O.K." Then he started to move the piles.

Kasumi looked at her fiancé and asked: "Is he all right?"

"The short answer is 'Yes'. He's still Ranma and the only thing important that has changed is that his Senses have opened a little more and he's able to channel Power a little easier. I'm not sure how that was done, but it did not hurt Ranma or change who he is. However, the King also hit Ranma with a very powerful 'Quickblood' spell; probably so he could start this little project. Ranma's not going to need to sleep for a few days. I've never seen such a perfect form of that spell; Ranma's moving quickly, but he's not hyperactive – everything is flowing evenly. Let's just say that the King is good – he's better than good," Tofu answered. He looked amused for a few moments and then he seemed to shake himself. "C'mon," he said while waving his hands at the mess: let's take the kitchen back from Boy Wonder."

* * *

Nodoka woke up and looked at the clock. She then noticed something weird. It was 6:30AM and she didn't smell anything cooking. "Yes!" she exalted. "Tofu wore her out dancing last night! I can finally cook for her." She quickly threw on a robe and left the room she shared with Soun and Genma. When she reached the family room, she stood still in shock though. Ranma was sitting on the couch writing diligently (and speedily). Kasumi was in a chair looking through a pile of papers in fascination. Nodoka could see a drawing of the human body on one of them. Tofu was sitting on the floor looking over several diagrams and seemed to be comparing them. None of them were talking or noticed that Nodoka was there.

Puzzlement replaced shock as Nodoka stood there. Finally, she decided she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She quietly went to the kitchen and began to take stock of the situation. A smile came over her face as she found the necessary ingredients. "I'll make something special," she thought. "I may never get this chance again."

* * *

Akane woke up and smelled food cooking. "Damn, I slept in later than I planned. I'll have to skip jogging today if breakfast is that far along." She threw on her robe and walked to the family room where she repeated Nodoka's performance upon seeing the exact same scene with one exception – the door to the kitchen was shut tight.

Akane felt she has stumbled upon something holy and didn't say a word. Instead she moved silently to a stack of papers and picked one up. It seemed to be a critique of a training technique. As she read it, she thought: "Of course this is crazy. Who in their right mind would ever do this to another person? At least the counter proposal is sane." She picked up another sheet and read about another technique, and then another. After the fourth critique, something clicked in the back of her head and she looked over at her hard working fiancé. Carefully, she set the papers down so they wouldn't burst into flame and stalked back to the bedrooms.

* * *

"YOU INCREDIBLE BASTARD!"

The shout brought Tofu, Kasumi, and Ranma back to reality. The follow-on profanity shocked them; none of them knew if Akane even knew what those words meant – at least they hoped she didn't. Then a sound like a large gong rang out. Tofu and Ranma ran outside to see that Akane had hoisted Genma partway up a thick flag pole; his head was just within her reach. As the two men watched, Akane shouted "YOU *&amp;%#!* MONSTER!" Again, both men prayed she didn't know what the words meant. Akane grabbed Genma's head and drew his body back away from the flag pole, and then slammed him forward into the flag pole with another gong-like sound.

Genma was trying to recover enough of his wits to reason with one of the Furies. "Wait, Akane!" he shouted.

"Never speak my name, you *&amp;%!#*!* Hell Spawn! How dare you do that to another person, never mind your own son! Hell is too good for you!" she bellowed. She emphasized the end of every sentence with another gong sound.

At this stage, people were starting to stare out their windows, so Tofu and Ranma ran forward to stop her from slamming Genma into the flag pole again. "Akane, stop!" Ranma begged as the two dragged her back.

Akane looked at Ranma. "Why are you protecting him?" she demanded. She broke their grip and grabbed Ranma's face. "You didn't deserve any of that abuse! How can you not be bitter?" Tears were streaming down her face. "He can't be around our children, Ranma! He can't! He's not human!" she cried.

"Shhhh," Ranma said as he pulled her to him. "It's in the past. I haven't forgotten, but there's no point in being bitter. He's too stupid to even recognize what he did." People were outside now and watching the couple. They were also starting to throw suspicious glances at Genma.

"Promise me, Ranma! Promise me he'll never be left alone with our children!" she pleaded as she clung to him.

"I promise, Akane. I won't even leave him alone with you. We'll find a proper way to teach 'Anything Goes'," he said firmly.

"It's not just Martial Arts, Ranma! He can't be trusted ever!" she pled again.

"I promise. We'll never leave our children unguarded." Ranma sounded as firm as bedrock. Akane still clung to Ranma.

"Come inside," Tofu urged gently. Ranma nodded and led Akane away.

"Ummm…I don't suppose…" Genma began from where he hung.

Tofu looked back at Genma. "You've got to be kidding," he said with disgust and then followed the couple inside.

Genma looked at the gathered crowd. "How about a little help here?" he asked. They turned their backs on him and went into their own condos. Genma sighed and thought: "I don't think I'll be able to live in my son's household once they are married…"

* * *

As the couple walked back into the family room, they saw complete chaos.

"Auntie, please open the door. I want to help!" Kasumi pleaded at the barricaded door.

"Ah, ah, ah, Miss Tendo," Nodoka replied with a sing-song voice through the door. "Go relax! Why don't you go drag your fiancé back to the bedroom? Everyone else is up!"

"But the estimated ROI is too high," Nabiki stated holding the business plan that Ranma had written up.

"No, it's not. He's included estimated Goodwill in it and he's offsetting some advertising costs with it. You know word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising – especially in a service industry," Akari countered.

"True, but for a business just starting up, he needs…" Nabiki continued.

"But the Mouko Takabasha shouldn't really be declared an "Anything Goes" technique," Ryoga argued with Soun as the young man held a list of energy offensives in his hand. "Ranma developed it from the Shi-Shi Hokoudan which I got from those miners."

"Ryoga," Soun explained patiently. "When it comes right down to it, a kick is a kick, and a punch is a punch. The difference between some of the various fighting schools is often slight, but those differences are important when summed together and those two techniques have very different motivations, and even you changed things when you adopted the technique…"

"Ranma?" Akane asked from where she clung to him. "What's happening?"

Ranma grinned. "Something wonderful," he told her.

"Speaking of which," Tofu cut in. You and I need to talk about some of the massages you've chosen for the shiatsu points."

"It depends which sheet you're talking about, Doc. There's one for everyone else, and there's one just for Akane," Ranma said mischievously. One of Tofu's eyebrows shot up. Akane looked at Ranma with confusion but there was something about his grin that made her smile…


	4. Nodoka's Reward

Chapter 4: Nodoka's Reward

It was near midnight when Ranma and Akane raced each other to the condo door while laughing and chuckling. "Hah! Beat you!" Ranma said hushly. "Pay up!"

"No fair," Akane laughed. "You leaped the wall!"

Ranma grinned as he pulled Akane to himself. "Do you practice 'Anything Goes' or what?" he said.

"Hmmm…I - " was as far as Akane got before Ranma kissed her. She gave herself over to the kiss. When they finally stopped, the two stood on the doorstep with their foreheads touching.

"This is really nice," Akane said contentedly.

"Oh yeah…" Ranma agreed smiling gently. "Let's hear it for vacations." Akane stretched up and collected another kiss as Ranma stroked her cheek with one hand and pulled her closer with the other. Akane hooked Ranma's shoulders with her arms and held on tight.

Eventually, a clock began to toll in the distance, and the couple broke their embrace. "We better go in," Akane said. "Kasumi will have us up and moving in the morning, and we promised her and your mom we'd be in by midnight."

Ranma nodded. "I'm afraid so," he agreed. "That's the problem with having a responsible parent – they actually expect responsibility." With that, he turned and unlocked the door.

As they entered the condo and walked into the main family room, they saw Nodoka sitting on a couch reading by a dim floor light. "Hmph…" she started. "So there you are. You're late!" she huffed in mocking tones.

Ranma knew she was only busting his chops, so he made a show of looking at the clock and saying in pompous tones: "We're not late. Your clock is fast."

Akane chimed in: "Besides, you are the one who suggested a moonlit stroll. It's not our fault the moon didn't rise until 11PM."

Nodoka rose from the couch with a small smile. "You left here just after dinner, and you've only given an accounting of one hour. Dare I ask what you've been doing the other four hours?" She walked over to them and tapped Akane's nose with her finger. "Keep in mind I know what your schedule is, young lady. You miss and both of you are off to the altar."

Akane and Nodoka were close enough these days that Akane felt comfortable saying: "It's customary to wait for the baby-bump." Ranma just rolled his eyes.

Nodoka laughed and then hugged Akane, delighted the young woman felt confident enough to sass her back. "Oh, no, Miss Tendo. I'll take any excuse to formalize my possession of you!"

"Mom," Ranma said with exasperation. "Shouldn't you be asleep? It is midnight."

Nodoka grinned. "Trying to get rid of your mother so you could have another round on the couch? I don't recommend it – too much risk of being caught." Ranma rolled his eyes again. "Besides," Nodoka continued. "Your fathers – both of them – went drinking until the bars threw them out at 11PM. Thank heavens it's a weeknight or they would still be there! They are both snoring up a storm. I'll probably be on the couch tonight just so I can get some sleep."

"Never mind that you're like a mother hen gathering up her chicks," Ranma told his mother. "In the USA, we'd be legally adults you know." He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Nodoka fluttered her eyes innocently at her son and adopted a wounded look while placing a hand over her heart. "Are you insinuating that I might be over-protective? Me? The idiot that let you go off on that decade long training trip?"

"And now you're making up for lost time," Nabiki chimed out behind the group. The young woman walked out of the hallway into the main room and turned to face Akane and Ranma. "She gave me the same line about knowing my schedule, but the busybody threatened to track down the 'father' instead."

Nodoka wounded look became a little more real and even a little worried. "Busybody?" she protested. "You know I'm not really trying to interfere."

"You are a busybody and you are trying to interfere," Nabiki said as she slid her hands around the back of the older woman's neck and touched her forehead to Nodoka's. "I just wouldn't say what you've been doing is inappropriate, Auntie." With that, Nabiki kissed Nodoka on the cheek and turned back to leave. "Good night all," the middle daughter said.

Ranma and Akane turned to look at the unshed tears in Nodoka's eyes and the tremulous smile on her face. They both smiled at each other and then at the older woman. "Good night, Mom," Ranma said kissing her again on the cheek.

Akane hugged Nodoka and kissed her on the other cheek. "Good night, Auntie," she said turning to walk with Ranma down the hall.

The tears rolled down Nodoka's cheeks once the couple left her. The tears had to detour around her smile though. She moved back to the couch to let Ranma and Akane have a little privacy for one last kiss. Then Nodoka settled on the couch again to wait for her last chick and the chick's fiancé.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the story!

Next Tuesday we will continue with the final segment of "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Detonation".

See you then!


	5. The Quartet

Chapter 5: Extra Chapter: The Quartet

* * *

**Just before Chapter 1:**

Yuka and Hiroshi looked at the artifact that Tofu had given them. It seemed to be a small golden statue of the Buddha. Before their eyes, it changed to wood. "That's it," Yuka said. "The charge is gone."

Sayuri nodded. "All right, do we want to set up right here?"

"No," Daisuke insisted. "We don't want them coming up unobserved. There's a chance they might see us first and retreat unseen. Let someone else have this spot and let's setup somewhere we can observe – like over by that dune. It will stop anyone from coming up behind us." He was silent for a few moments as he looked at the sky and checked out the beach. The crowds were still arriving. "The dune will keep the wind off of us and won't block the sun either. It's a good spot anyway."

"Do you think whoever sets up there will be in danger?" Hiroshi asked as Daisuke led the way to the dune.

"No," Sayuri replied. "Cologne doesn't want a fight – especially after the last fight between Ranma and Genma. Something is up with her anyway – she's stopped referring to Ranma as her 'son-in-law'. Ukyo and Shampoo don't want to fight Akane either; it's the quickest way to piss Ranma off."

"Something to be avoided at all costs," Yuka agreed. "Genma was limping and groaning for a week after that fight – and he heals fast. Even the Dojo Destroyer looked thoughtful after that," she added with a little laugh.

The quartet laid out their blankets and put up the beach umbrella Hiroshi had brought along. Sayuri had pulled the wheeled cooler that Kasumi had packed for them. While the four had agreed to serve as decoys willingly, the Tendos, Dr. Tofu, and the Saotomes (at least Ranma and Nodoka) had insisted that they accept some compensation for their time. So, the Tendos provided the cooler packed with lunch and treats while the Saotomes provided transportation (train tickets and a taxi cab) and admission. Basically, the teenagers were being treated to a day at the beach.

Yuka pulled out drinks for everyone and then stopped. "Guys," she started. "Check it out." She held up an envelope and opened it to reveal cash inside.

Daisuke took the money. "Looks like the Doc added his own contribution," he observed brightly. Then a thought seemed to strike him and he groaned. He handed it to Hiroshi with a sigh while saying: "Hold onto it for emergencies. We can return it to the Doc when we see him next."

The other three grinned at each other. "Oh dear," Sayuri teased. "Our little Daisuke is growing up."

"Don't push it," he grumbled.

"Face it," Yuka laughed. "You no longer group the world into kids versus adults."

"Yeah," Daisuke muttered. "Tofu is a friend and that's too much for this favor."

"I agree it's too much," Hiroshi said looking at the cash. "But, I think we can spend a little of it on ice cream or something. He'd be a little offended if we returned everything."

"That's why I gave it to you to hold," Daisuke sighed. "You'll get it right."

* * *

**Later that afternoon:**

Yuka and Hiroshi walked down the beach away from the others. The waves were running ashore and splashing up the beach to encircle their feet. "Score one for Nabiki" Yuka laughed.

"Yeah, but the old Ghoul knew it was a trap. She was expecting us. She brought enough noodles for all of us," Hiroshi replied.

"Be nice to her," Yuka scolded. "She was happy to see us."

Hiroshi chuckled. "All right, yes, she was," he agreed. "And she was pleasant company, when all is said and done. I think she'd rather talk to us than hunt for Ranma anymore." Yuka just laughed and walked hand-in-hand with him down the beach.

After a while, a worried look crossed her face. "What's wrong?" Hiroshi asked.

Yuka bit her lower lip and then asked: "Hiroshi, am I holding you back?"

"Huh?"

"Am I holding you back? Everyone around us is talking about college, but you haven't said a word," she pressed on.

"Oh? Well, neither have you. Am I holding you back?" he returned.

"NO! I mean, 'No.'" she said. "I'm not planning on going away to college and my parents don't really see a reason to push me. Dad is expecting me to start working in his office as a receptionist and clerk. I think he just expects me to get married eventually. I don't know what I want to do yet, but I know it's not University – I don't care enough. There are Junior Colleges, but I don't want to teach or do nursing."

"There's a handful of Junior Colleges that do Business courses – including one in Nerima. The rest are in the Tokyo area," Hiroshi said hopefully. Yuka suppressed a smile at the tone in her boyfriend's voice.

"I have thought about attending one of the Accountancy Courses," she admitted. "I could do that part-time."

"There's a number of those close by too…" he added.

"Perhaps…" she said shyly looking through her eyelashes.

"I could see you doing well as an accountant; you keep everything in perspective," Hiroshi added, missing the look.

"What makes you say that?" she quizzed.

"Because you're one of the most level headed people I know," he replied.

Yuka snorted. "That's not saying much – we live in Nerima, remember?" she laughed.

He smiled at the joke and continued: "Yeah, but you're one of the few people who can short out one of Akane's rages or keep Sayuri from going overboard."

Yuka smirked: "The second one is getting harder and harder. I had to whisper in Konatsu's ear to save Mousse."

"Yeah, I noticed. She's set her sights on Duck Boy. I almost feel sorry for him," Hiroshi said. "How did the two of you meet? You've been friends with Sayuri a long time."

Yuka smiled again and answered: "I blame Akane for that. She has a habit of picking up strays and I was one of them. When we started school, I didn't quite fit in with any of the cliques, so I was by myself a lot. Akane noticed and befriended me. Despite the fact that the Jocks all looked at her as their leader, she never paid much attention to the cliques. She saw me alone at lunch one day and sat down with me and began to talk with me. We became friends after that and the rest of the Jocks just shrugged their shoulders and decided if Akane said I was one of them, then I was. School became a lot easier after that."

"So what does this have to do with Sayuri?" Hiroshi asked.

"Sayuri was another stray Akane picked up. She had been rejected by the "In" crowd," Yuka told him.

"You're kidding me!" Hiroshi burst out. "They're jealous of her now!"

Yuka gave an evil grin; Hiroshi thought it looked out of place on her angelic face. "Yes, they are, and they can't touch her. Akane would wipe the floor with them. The cliques change constantly, but Akane is the constant. Despite her self-doubt, Akane projects self-assured confidence and she's still queen of the Jocks. No one wants to cross her and receive a fist in the face."

Yuka continued: "Sayuri and I bonded together because we were non-Jocks in with the Jocks. Akane kept us close to her at first because deep down she knew we felt a bit out of place, and she wanted us happy. But when you spend that much time with someone, you become really good friends anyway. Soon, we weren't the Strays – we were Akane's Best Friends. That put us beyond all the cliques, although honestly, we didn't care about that anymore – still don't. Akane's rubbed off on us that way. Besides, inside, Akane really is a sweet girl – she's concerned about everyone – and you don't let someone like that get away."

Hiroshi reflected on that. Once upon a time, he himself had a crush on Akane – most of the guys at school did. But his instincts for self-preservation didn't think it was wise to tell Yuka that. Instead, he wanted to steer the conversation towards safer waters, so he said: "She's not the only sweet girl."

Yuka blushed and replied: "Maybe that rubbed off on me as well."

He gave his girlfriend a knowing look and responded in turn: "Yeah…I think that was there before Akane somehow."

Yuka blushed redder and said: "Thanks. But you haven't said what you wanted to do…"

Hiroshi became pensive and sighed. "You'll think it's silly," he said.

"No, I won't," she promised. "Please tell me."

"I want to be a firefighter/paramedic," he said.

"What?" she said surprised. "Why the hell would I think that's silly?"

"It's a tough job with long hours – and it sounds like something a seven-year old kid would say," he said.

"But you'll be helping people! That's wonderful! But it's a tough job to get into. There's like a hundred applicants for ever position," she said.

"Yeah, I know, but my Dad's family could help me get a job. They won't help me unless I go to college first, so I was thinking of going to one of the local colleges – they think that's fine, so I'll probably do it," he said.

"That's wonderful!" she cried hugging him causing him to go red in the face with relief as he hugged her back. She pulled back and looked at him. Hiroshi was wise enough to know that this was a 'kissing moment' and applied himself with enthusiasm.

After they stopped, a worried look crossed his face. "What's wrong?" Yuka asked.

"It's not easy being a firefighter's wife – even if I do get a paramedic's job. How would you feel about it?" he asked.

Yuka looked stunned for a moment. "Did you just ask me to marry you?" she asked.

"No! I mean 'Yes'! No, wait! Um…I mean…" Hiroshi stumbled. Then he locked down his panic and put a finger to her lips. Fortunately, he was not Ranma. Hiroshi took a deep breath and pressed on: "I mean we are both young. We are not even out of high school. But I would like to keep dating you and moving forward. I'm not positive if I know enough about love yet, but I'm pretty sure I am falling in love with you. I like the idea of marrying you and being with you. But, I'm not Ranma, who knows exactly who he is – I'm still learning who I am. Still, I'd like you to be there while I learn."

Hiroshi couldn't tell if Yuka was going to laugh or cry. Finally, she hurled herself into his arms again and half-shouted while squeezing him: "Idiot! I'm not Akane. I'm not ready to be married, either. But I do want you in my life, and if you are serious about us moving forward, that's good enough for me right now." She felt his relieved sigh and tried not to laugh. She did kiss him again though. "As long as there is a path for us to continue to be together, I'll walk it with you," she added after the kiss.

"Done," he answered. "I'm not going anywhere without you." She answered by kissing him again, but very deeply this time.

The kiss went on and on, evoking a not-so-surprising response from Hiroshi which Yuka noticed with an internal smile. She sneaked her eyes open and looked around. The beach wasn't that crowded where they were, but not quite private enough. She did notice several more private locations – a few which did not have any couples occupying them. She had a towel wrapped around her waist and Hiroshi had one over his shoulders. "Good enough," she thought. The lingering effects of Hiroshi's back massage were provoking all sorts of interesting thoughts in her mind. While she was sure she was not ready for marriage, and definitely sure she was not ready for children, there was a lot of territory between complete chastity and children to be investigated.

She broke the kiss and gave Hiroshi a smoldering look through her eyelashes. The young man's eyes widened and then became all smiles as she led him by the hand towards a more secluded spot.

* * *

Sayuri and Daisuke walked in a different direction, through a more crowded section of the beach. "Mission successful?" she asked.

"Oh yeah! What did you say to her?" he asked.

"I told her you were my cousin," she answered.

"That is so cool. She gave me her number by calling my phone. It's real," he triumphed.

Sayuri laughed at him and teased: "So long as she didn't borrow the phone from her dad."

"Hey, hey! Don't even joke about that!" he pushed back. "Let me have a taste of victory for a few moments before you squash it."

"Moron," Sayuri said with a mock roll of her eyes. "Did you find out where she lived?"

"Yep. She's next door in Suginami. The other couple was her sister and the sister's boyfriend. She was happy not to be a third wheel for a while," he replied.

"Definite progress," Sayuri said satisfied with the answer.

"Yeah, well thank you for the help," he said. She just smirked at him. "And what was up with you and China boy?" he answered the smirk.

"China boy has a nice body and amazing hands. That purple-haired bimbo is a moron not to notice him," Sayuri replied.

"He still fawns all over her," Daisuke said with some distaste.

"Oh please. If she spread her legs, you'd be there in an instant," Sayuri snorted

"Well, yeah, but still, a man's got to have some pride," Daisuke said.

"You've been hanging out with Ranma too much; you're starting to sound like him again," she noted. "Leave China Boy alone. He'll grow up eventually," she scolded.

"And how do you know that?" Daisuke prompted.

"Because he had some interesting reactions when I worked on him," she replied with a lofty air and a flutter of her eyelashes. "And there was no way he was thinking about anything but my hands. "'Waitress Boy' had to cool Mousse down a few times. If not for that, Mousse would have been mine."

"And what would you to with him?" Daisuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you on the pill yet?"

"As if I tell you!" she mocked.

"Hey! Hey! Come on now! You know me, I'm a true gentleman: willing partners or none at all!" he protested.

"Which is why there's been none at all, Faker" she finished.

"And you're one to talk, Tease," he shot back.

They looked at each other for a moment with slight annoyance showing on their faces and then burst out laughing. Sayuri stretch out her hand and said in English: "Put 'er there, cousin."

Daisuke took her hand and said: "Thank the gods I have you to do that with. I love them like brothers, but Ranma and Hiroshi are too uptight. I can't make any bawdy jokes with them."

"Yeah, they are wound a little tight," Sayuri agreed as they walked on. "Akane and Yuka are the same way. Sex is such a serious matter to them, they cannot laugh at it."

"I'm not sure 'serious' is the right word for Akane and Ranma," Daisuke said thoughtfully. "For a while there, I think 'terrifying' would have been more appropriate. Kuno made it hard for Akane to see boys as anything other than jackasses. Sex – and Love – became frightening to her."

Sayuri sighed at that. "I'm afraid so. It took so much for her to trust Ranma. Yuka and I worked long and hard on her to get her to see Ranma as he really was. He's was still an idiot, but an idiot with his heart in the right place."

"Ranma was a little worse," Daisuke added. "Genma, the arrogant asshole, had done a number on him. His father had taught Ranma that any emotional attachment was a sign of weakness. Intimacy made you vulnerable. Mercy and compassion were something you high-handedly gave to those weaker than you. Love was right out." Now it was Daisuke's turn to sigh at the memory, but he went on after a moment. "Fortunately, Ranma came to Nerima. Through some miracle, his father hadn't destroyed his humanity yet. Deep down, Ranma still wanted to connect with people, even if he didn't know how. It took a little bit, and he made lots of mistakes, but he began to learn to open up to people – Akane most of all."

"How did you and Hiroshi ever become friends with Ranma? He really was a smug jerk in the beginning." Sayuri asked.

"At first we hung around him to bust his chops about Akane, but that didn't really work too well – he just kept saying he wanted nothing to do with her. Then we noticed that the bullies began leaving us alone when we hung out with Ranma. It was nice not having to check around each corner, so we stayed with him," Daisuke shrugged.

"Yeah, but Ranma cleared out all the bullies before too long. Soon you didn't have to stay with him," Sayuri noted.

Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck while he thought. "Yeah," he began. "But that was sort of the point: Ranma took out anyone who picked on other people. He didn't target you for being a braggart or obnoxious, he only went after you if you abused someone else. He actually believed in protecting the weak – not in proving his worth to everyone. That's sort of a 'higher concept'. We thought that maybe there was more to Ranma than just being the biggest and baddest, so we started to drag him along with us when we did things. Ranma was really different if you weren't challenging him or busting his chops. We found out he was really shy when push came to shove. He was just like us."

Sayuri raised her eyebrows and said: "You think Ranma is just like you and Hiroshi?"

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders. "In some ways, yeah. He was pretty naïve back then too. Ranma knew nothing about pop culture when we started hanging out. Hiroshi showed him all the manga that he collected and I played Ranma the music I had. When we talked about what we liked, Ranma just listened – he never called us or what we liked 'weird.' He would comment honestly about what he heard or read, but he never mocked us. Music really isn't his thing, but Hiroshi did get him hooked on manga. Ranma did ask to see some of the electronic music instruments I made though. And sometimes he would look through my idea sketch pad as we were hanging out. Once, he said it was cool that I could think of things like that."

"Whoa, wait a second. Ranma gave you a compliment?" Sayuri asked while laughing.

Daisuke smirked. "Sort of," he answered. "I think his exact words were that he was amazed a dweeb like me could come up with things that were so cool."

"All right, that sounds better," Sayuri said.

"Still, when the big man on campus gives you some grudging respect, it feels pretty good," he grinned.

"Big man on campus?" Sayuri questioned with a smile. "Oh come on! Everyone teases him! *You* rag on him constantly!"

Daisuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah? You know that's all crap. We do it because he lets us get away with it – he could stop us quickly enough. He doesn't. No matter how anyone teases Ranma or mocks him, he just brushes it off. He knows who he is and the rest of us are jealous of him for it despite his curse. 'Cool' just oozes out of him. Every guy wants him on their team – no matter what the game is – and every girl wants to date him, including you."

"So not true," she said with a roll of her eyes and a slight side-to-side of her head.

Daisuke wasn't fooled though. Instead he squeezed her hand lightly and said with a small laugh: "Yeah, not so much. If you weren't Best Friends with Akane…"

Sayuri actually looked down and blushed slightly at this. "Yeah…well…we know he's only interested in Akane. And I'd rather keep Akane, anyway," she admitted. "Still, being a hunk doesn't necessarily make him cool."

"Maybe," Daisuke said, but he wasn't done. "Did you know Hiroshi wants to be a fireman?" Daisuke asked.

"Hiroshi? Our quiet Hiroshi wants to run into burning buildings?" Sayuri returned with a modicum of disbelief.

"He really wants to be an EMT, but you have to be a fireman too," Daisuke said.

"Didn't see that one coming – what did Ranma say to that?" she prompted.

"You'd think that Ranma would scoff at that, wouldn't you? I was going to," Daisuke admitted. "But, I never got a chance. Ranma asked me for a piece of paper before I could say anything. Then he sketches some sort of chart, writes a few things down and tosses the paper at Hiroshi. Hiroshi looked at it and put it away in his books without saying a word. I had to swipe it later to find out what it was."

After a few moments of silence, Sayuri said. "All right, don't be a jackass – what was it?"

"It was a training regimen, believe it or not," Daisuke answered.

"You're jerking me around now," Sayuri stated.

"Dead serious," he replied. "Ranma had written where Hiroshi should start and what steps he needed to build up his strength. When I asked Ranma about it later, Ranma shrugged and said that Hiroshi would never be a martial artist, but if Hiroshi thought he had the courage to pull people out of danger, then he probably did."

Sayuri gave a low whistle. "Did Hiroshi do anything with the sheet?"

"Our friend can now bench press 90 kg and run 1 km well under five minutes. His endurance is creeping up too in sit-ups and push-ups. Not a superstar by any means, but, from where he started, it is amazing. Especially since he's only been at it for a few months. Ranma thinks he'll be more than ready when the time comes," Daisuke answered.

"Whoa…" she said slowly.

"No kidding. Ranma didn't shoot him down, didn't mock him. Just said, 'You want it? Here's how.' I'm never gonna tell Ranma this, but that is the ultimate in cool," Daisuke finished.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for (re-)reading! I rushed this story the first time round because I wanted to publish a summer story during the summer. I should have let it "age" as I normally do with all my writing. The story had some large and obvious flaws and has been bothering me ever since. My OCD finally became too much to bear, so I re-wrote the offending sections and I'm much happier with this version. I figured I'd add the "bonus material" to sort of make up for the mistake - O.K. really, the addition just amused me. Hopefully someone else will like it too.

Take care!


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